iSplice
by emeralddusk
Summary: Carly isn't human...Not exactly.
1. Chapter 1

**She's Not Human...Not Quite**

iSplice

Test 30.28...Failed.

Test 30.29...Failed.

Test 30.30...In Progress.

"Scan DNA," Mark Blackson ordered.

"Scanning," the simulated female voice on the central computer replied. A dark blue bar extended to the right of the screen, indicating processing of the information it had received. "DNA scanned and uploaded onto hard drive. Specimen: Female Siberian white tiger."

"Begin gene splicing procedure," Debra Blackson commanded of the machine. "Merge with DNA of snow leopard specimen 5"

"Processing command," the computer responded. Light blue outlines of the tiger and leopard appeared on the computer screen. "Splicing complete."

"Begin final procedure," Debra ordered, her heart racing as the defining moment approached. The woman's eyes were locked onto the screen as the process was performed.

The DNA samples were dropped into a test tube filled with blue liquid. A vast array of chemicals were then added by Mark and his wife. The two steadied their hands as they used eye droppers to put in every single ounce of the materials, knowing that even the slightest miscalculation would mean failure, and millions of dollars and hours of research wasted. Debra swallowed hard as she prepared to put in the last drop of the chemical, sweat trickling from her forehead. The drop of red fluid fell from the clear, plastic tube, and fell into the mixture, combining with the other substances.

The two watched as the mixture united into a clear, liquid blend surrounding their experiment. As the months went by, the two watched as their greatest experiment grew.

One morning, the two woke up to a beeping sound coming from their lab. Not knowing what was happening, the couple raced downstairs, and let their jaws drop at the sight: Their experiment's heartbeat was being registered, and it had grown into a healthy fetus: The perfect hybrid of a snow leopard and a white tiger.

"We've done it," Mark exclaimed. The man then lovingly embraced his wife, who wrapped her arms around him in return.

The next day, the newspaper headlines read "Blackson couple succeeds in genetic hybrid experiment!". The press hounded the two, and the name Blackson became a household icon. Government funding doubled, and, for a time, life was good. Their "baby" was put into a zoo made especially for their experiments.

"What do we work on next?" Debra asked her husband, glancing at a picture of their last invention.

Mark reached under the couch for a photograph her dropped, and felt a sliver of cold metal cut into his arm. The man shuttered in pain, then pulled his hand out, examining it. "...I think I have an idea," he declared.


	2. Chapter 2

iSplice

Chapter 2: Dark Beginnings

The night was cold and silent. Mark waited with his phone pressed to the side of his face, generic music ringing in his eardrums. Minutes passed by faster than he could calculate. Finally, he found himself sitting in the same spot on his couch two hours later. "Hello," a voice on the other end of the line finally said.

"N.E.R.D.," Mark recited, his voice still and emotionless as stone.

"Mark Blackson?" the man on the other end of the line asked.

"Yes," Mark replied. "You probably didn't need to ask. Am I right?"

"Why are you calling me?" the man avoided the question.

"I need new samples for our experiments," Mark answered. "Not like the other kinds you've sent me."

"What do you mean?" the man replied.

"...I want human DNA," Mark finally answered, his voice starting to tremble. "We believe that uniting animal's antibodies in the thinking, rational body of human beings will result in a golden age of health and advancement."

"...I'm sorry," the man replied, his voice still free of emotion. "It's too unorthodox. Too inhumane. We can supply you with any other DNA, but not human."

"Why not?" Mark demanded. "After all we've done together, all we've accomplished! You can't just cut us off. We're on the verge of a breakthrough."

"N.E.R.D. will not fund this type of project," the man angrily replied. "I suggest you and your wife go back to working with animals, or work at CVS from now on." The line went dead.

His anger reaching its climax, the man threw the phone onto the floor, then stroked over his aching eyes and forehead.

"What's wrong?" Debra asked, walking in from the garden she'd been tending.

"They turned down our idea," Mark answered. "Those bastards."

The woman embraced her husband, sharing his sorrow and anger. Over the next 5 years, the two worked at a local drug store, operating under false identities to hide their shame. Despite their fame, the two had been in obscurity long enough to go unrecognized by the population. Days blended together. Months slipped into years.

Pills, serums, injections, heart scans: so similar to what they should be working on. It was like an artist only being forced to see the world in black and white.

"Do we have enough?" Mark asked his wife while sitting in a dark room lit only by light blue fluorescent lights.

Debra examined a test tube filled with clear, red blood. "Yes," she answered. "Finally."

"Take the supplies, and run," Mark instructed. The man's wife nodded, gathered skin samples and viles of various types of blood, and ran out the back door. Mark pulled out a container of gasoline, and poured it all around the room. The man then lit a match, and dropped it two feet from the stream of liquid.

Fire engulfed the room, consuming the fake identification cards and other forms the two forged to create their new identities. His eyes burning from the smoke, Mark fought his way out of the store, and jumped into Debra's car. No witnesses: perfect.

The couple watched the flames lick the air, and drove away, leaving behind their imaginary lives. A hint of regret disturbed Mark: the friends he'd made and the people who relied on him would be left behind. However, greater goals were at stake.

The next night, the two returned to their country house, gathered necessary supplies, then drove to their lab: an abandoned hospital in downtown Los Angeles. Debra and Mark laid out their blood and skin samples, and place them in a genetic freezer.

"How are we going to do this without living subjects?" Mark asked. The question had been on his mind for years, but other matters had been dominating his priorities.

"We have one," Debra replied, rubbing her stomach. "...If you're willing."

Mark ran the idea through his head: was he really willing to allow another man's DNA to grow inside his wife's womb? Could he really turn the love of his life into a test subject? Did the end truly justify the means?

"...I want a son," Mark finally said, his voice laced with reflectance.

The woman smiled at her husband. "Let's get to work," she said. The two began scanning the blood samples, doing background checks on the unwitting doners. Only the strongest and healthiest doners' DNA was accepted into the collection. Once the ideal DNA was formed, the two began looking for animals to merge with the human genes. An animal with cunning, intelligence, the capability to retain memory, and defend itself.

Mark leaned towards a species of to begin with, but Debra argued that the healing factor of a lizard would be a greater asset. The result, in the end, was a human with the genes of a feral cat (for its killer instinct, kean sense of vision, and reflexes), a rare species of lizard (for its healing factor, and its immunity to disease), and a Capachin monkey (for their ability to utilize their surroundings to make weapons for survival). The rational section of the brain (that of a human) was bred to be more receptive than animal instinct. However, the sense of loyalty, similar to that of a dog, was implanted into the pool of genes: The Blacksons' creation must not betray them, no matter what was done to it.

Tragedy struck, however, when the human blood cells began to die. Mark concluded that the venom from the lizard had to be concentrated and altered from its original state to make it suitable for the creature's dominantly human DNA. Other minor errors occurred, but no serious issues arose.

Finally, after two more years, the sample was ready to begin its life: Its genes were stabilized, and able to be joined with a human. Debra had the DNA implanted into her body, much like the process of human reproduction would occur. Just like a human fetus, the specimen would grow and develop inside its birth mother.

Mark remembered when Debra carried his son, his real son. But a miscarriage ruined everything. After that, they were never able to have children. As it turned out, Mark suffered from a condition brought on by the radiation he'd been exposed to, which made conception impossible.

Over the months, Debra's pregnancy progressed as would a normal period of gestation for a human. Mark cherished every moment he could help her with her mood swings, bizarre cravings, and her periods of illness brought on by the altered genes she was harboring. Even though the laws of science forbade him from growing attached to his experiments, Mark knew he would love the creature as he would love his own flesh and blood. Maybe this was the greater good her sought all along.

After roughly nine months, Debra went into labor. The contractions were excruciating, and her screams were vicious. Mark was the only one there to aid her, as it had to be. The woman squeezed his hand tightly, practically breaking his fingers.

"Hold on just a little longer," Mark assured his love.

"I can't!" Debra screamed. "I'm gonna die!"

"No you're not," Mark assured her. "Hang on, please."

Debra hollered at the top of her lungs, her throat growing raw. The woman's breath grew heavy, trying desperately to relieve the pain of labor. Her face growing red, and sweat trickling from her forehead, a sense of desperation remaining in the back of Debra's mind.

"Okay, it's coming," Mark informed. "Push. Push."

A high-pitched squealing sound began to sound from the infant creature. Like a normal human, the hybrid creature had two ears, two eyes, a mouth on its face, two arms, and two legs. The baby's eyes were large black orbs, signifying that only the pupils had developed. The creature's arms and legs were clearly distinguishable from one another. The balls of its heals extended longer than its thin, bony toes. Its fingers were bone thin, and curved downward in a scavenging position. The strange being's round, bald head was coated with blue spider veins, and covered in a thick light-green-colored fluids. The most distinctive feature about the creature was its large spine, which extruded out of the its back, and lead to a long, flesh-colored tail ending in a spiny point. The experimental being whaled, letting out a screeching cry that sent a chill down Mark's spine.

"...We've done it," Mark exclaimed, bewildered. The man severed the umbilical cord, dawned a pair of sterile gloves, and cleansed the infant in an antibacterial fluid to remove any harmful substances from the creature's venom.

Debra was given a chemical shower to remove substances she was exposed to during birth, and was then permitted to hold her son.

"What'll we call him?" Mark asked, staring lovingly at his surrogate child.

"...Carlos," Debra. "Just like our real son."

The creature yawned, and cuddled into his mother's arms, the blanket he was wrapped in keeping him warm and secure.

Mark gently stroked the infant's head, feeling his love growing.


	3. Chapter 3

iSplice

Chapter 3: Spawn of Evil

Debra sat on the couch in her living room, cradling her baby in its blanket in her arms. The windows were closed, as they had been everyday and night since Carlos was born. The night was silent, and a cool breeze was flowing past the building. Slowly rocking back and forth, the woman began gently singing to her son. "You are my sunshine...my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are skies are gray. Please don't take my...What?"

"Sushie," Carlos replied, his voice so innocent. After one year, the baby was able to walk, and was beginning to speak, though only when pressured to.

"That's right," Debra whispered, struggling to contain her joy. The woman kissed her child on the forehead. In the pit of her mind, though, something was vexing her: Carlos was not human: he didn't move like a human, eat like one, or respond to the things humans responded to. He was young, though. Maybe he would learn.

"Debra," Mark called, entering the room. "I just made an appointment with some of the shareholders at N.E.R.D. They had a sudden interest in our animal hybrids."

"That's great," Debra replied. "Which specimens do they want us to present?"

"They said they wanted 558 and 559," Mark answered. "The ones who are mated for life. They said they want to see how our experiments affect their reproductive habits."

"When's the appointment?" Debra asked, setting Carlos in a playpen.

"Thursday," Mark replied. "I'll have them ready, but...what about Carlos? We can't just leave him alone."

"I was thinking about taking him to my mom's old place," Debra answered. "Carlos can feed himself, and there's nothing there he can get into."

"We can't just leave a one year old by himself," Mark replied, stroking Carlos' head.

"He's been alone before," Debra defended. "The feral instinct makes him perfectly self sufficient. All I'm worried about is that he'll get lonesome." The woman looked lovingly at her "son", giving him a smile.

"...Alright," Mark finally gave in. "But what if he gets out?"

Debra thought for a minute.

"If he gets into town, it's all ruined," Mark exclaimed. "We'd have to put him in a cage or something."

"We can't do that!" Debra cried. "He's a human being, not just a damn experiment!"

"...We've grown too attached," Mark finally said. The two stared at each other for a minute. Carlos stuck his thin fingers through the tiny holes in his pen, then stuck his tones inside, and climbed up to the top, staring at his guardians.

Debra looked back, shocked. "Get down, Carlos," she said, her voice growing angry. Turning to her husband, a startling truth hit the woman: "We have to stop. This was going too far."

"We can't stop," Mark replied. "We're so close to a major advance in science and medicine."

"At what cost, though?" Debra argued. "What are we gonna do next? Rob a nursery for test subjects?"

"We've come this far, and we can't stop now!" Mark screamed. "If we do, this was all a waste! The thousands of dollars, raiding a pharmacy!"

"If N.E.R.D. finds out about this, they'll kill us, then him!" Debra screamed. "Carlos has to be the last human experiment we do. We can find another project...Something more humane to help humanity."

Mark didn't respond. Carlos stared at the man, feeling his emotional distress like only an animal could.

"...Fine," the man finally said. "We scrap the project...Go to work on mold or something...Maybe I've been wrong all along."

"Maybe we were both wrong," Debra replied. "But we'll learn from our mistake,...and we did get a son out of it." The woman kissed Carlos' forehead. "We can still make things right. We can get back to helping for mankind with other research."

Mark nodded, still in an emotional low. "But what do about the conference?" Mark added. "They know we always work together. Can we trust Carlos alone?"

"I think we can," Debra answered.

Over the next few days, Carlos began growing at an alarmingly fast rate. Come Thursday, he had the body of a ten year old: Mark assumed the reptile's DNA caused an acceleration in the aging process. Surprisingly, Carlos' vocal patterns remained the same as in his infant years, though his speaking habits had dwindled to the point of almost complete silence. He remained loyal to his adoptive parents, but was able to function by himself, as Debra stated.

The Blackson couple bid farewell to their child, promising to return to a day or two, then departed from Debra's mother's farm. Carlos watched them leave, not leaving the window for roughly twenty minutes after they had driven away. It caused the boy a strange pain to see them leave. A pain he was not able to understand.


End file.
